Gunfire reported in Gambia’s capital while president abroad

Gunfire broke out overnight in Banjul, the capital of the West African nation of Gambia, residents said, and there were reports Tuesday that the presidential palace had been attacked.

President Yahya Jammeh, the autocratic longtime ruler who came to power after a coup in 1994, was out of the country when the shooting happened.

Reports over the weekend had quoted state radio as saying he was on a visit to France, but his precise whereabouts remained unknown. French officials were quoted as saying there was no record of his arrival in France.

Gambia, a sliver of land along the Gambia River and one of Africa's smallest countries, is a former British colony surrounded to the north, south and east by Senegal. Banjul, the island capital, lies on a spit of land at the mouth of the river on the Atlantic coast.

News reports ascribed the gunfire to a coup attempt or a mutiny, possibly involving troops from the presidential guard. Banks and other offices remained closed Tuesday,

Reuters quoted residents as saying, and state radio played traditional music without mentioning the shooting. Troops were said to be blocking a bridge controlling access to the city center. Authorities, however, denied reports of a coup or mutiny.

“Contrary to rumors being circulated, peace and calm continue to prevail in the Gambia,” Kalidu Bayo, the head of the Civil Service, said in a statement quoted by The Associated Press.

Agence France-Presse quoted military and diplomatic officials as saying that a coup had been foiled and that three purported conspirators had been killed, including an army deserter said to be the conspirators’ leader.

Mr Jammeh has faced increasing criticism from outside his country for running a repressive state.

Amnesty International criticised authorities this year for changing the constitution to extend maximum jail terms for some categories of homosexuality to life imprisonment from 14 years. The changes came "at a time when the space for free speech in Gambia is rapidly shrinking," Amnesty International said in a report in November.

“This is particularly evident in restrictions on the media, where the government controls what is printed and broadcast,” the report said.

“Human rights defenders, journalists and political activists face harassment, intimidation, arbitrary arrest and detention, torture and enforced disappearance,” the report added. “President Jammeh has repeatedly criticized human rights defenders for promoting and protecting the human rights of sexual minorities.”

The reports of gunfire in Banjul came roughly two months after demonstrators in Burkina Faso took to the streets to protest president Blaise Compaoré’s plans to extend his 27 years in office. The uprising forced Mr Compaoré to flee to Ivory Coast as his government collapsed. Amid the chaos, an army officer, Lt. Col. Isaac Zida, took power.

After weeks of political wrangling, Zida was named prime minister in a transitional government intended to steer the country to elections within a year. Michel Kafando, a civilian who was previously foreign minister and ambassador to the United Nations, was appointed interim president.

New York Times